Improved heel and toe plates for boots and shoes



UNirEn STATES i ATENT FFICE.

IRA E. L'UG'HBOROGH. 0F PITTSFORD, NIHV YORK.

Specilication forming part o' Letti-rs PatentNo. 47, l l5, dated April 4, 1865.

and Method of Attaching Heel and Toe Plates of Boots and Shoes and I do hereby declare l i l the heel, together with the nails through the that the following a i'ull, clear, and exact i description thereof, reference bei ng had to the accompanyingdrawings, makingpart ot this specification, in whichand heel with my invention attached. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section'olthe same. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan Vor" the heel-plate detached. Fig. 4 isa front elevation of the same.

'Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.-

This invention consists in the construction ot' metallic heel and toe plates for boots and shoes, with several lips projecting inward from the upper edge ofthe plate, one or more of these lips being provided ou the upper side with a point or spur which is torced into the heel, whereby when the last lift or strata of leather is nailed on within the rim ot' the plates the latter is lirmlyand permanently secured to the boot.

To enable others to work my invention,l will describe its construction and application.

The heel-plate I) is made tapering, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, from top to bottoni. rlhe external taper of the plate should conform to the desired shape-vertically--oF the heel, as seen at I), Fig. 2. There may be a connectingtlange, a, between the lips c, as seen in-Figs. 3 and 4, which constitutes a rest upon which the ed ge of the outer or clamping lift,f, catches when nailed on. This rest renders the'fitting ot the clampnigdit't much simpler and its hold upon the plate much more perfect and effectual than it otherwise would be, and the poi-nts e, projecting upward into the body ot' clamping-lift j', eil'ects an entirely permanent attachment ot' the plate to the heel, as the plate cannot be removed without tearing oit' the said lift f. This removes oneot1 the greatest, if not the greatest, objection heretofore existing; against the use ot' heel or toe plates-that is, their great liability to get loose, and. in fact-as they have been made and amvliedheretoio-re, they weresure to get Figure l is an inverted view ofa boot sole 1 loose before they were much worn.

l propose to make the plates ot' malleable iron and ease-harden them, but of course they may be made of any suitable metal.

lt' desirable, there may be several points or spurs e-provided on the body of the plate, and this would doubtless add somewhat to the strength ot' their attachment to the boot or shoe.

It will be seen that by this construction and manner of attaching' theplates no screws or rivets are required, and, when they are Worn so as to be no longer any protection to theboot, they may be replaced with new ones by simply removing the clamping litt f and applying the new lift and plate, as in 1thetrst instance. 4 y

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isy rlhe external plate, b, when provided with projecting lips c and points e, it being secured to the boot by the'clamping lift or lifts-j', which are nailed on within the encircling 'rim of the-plate, the edge of the llifts being entirelypiotected from wear by thc said rim o r flange.

IRA E. LOUG HBOROUGH.

Witnesses :v

ASA H BILLINGs, WM. S LoUGHBoitoUG-n. 

